Vēmanaవేమన
Short verses of a plain-spoken poet. 1 passage in the chapters come from it.
- What it is
- Padyams, short verses, most ending “Viśvadābhirāma, vinura Vēma”
- Composed
- Uncertain; proposals range from the 14th to the 18th century
- By
- Vēmana, of whose life little is certain
- References on this site
- His verses are cited by form (padyam); collections number them differently.
In plain Telugu, Vēmana's verses attack caste, idol worship and hypocrisy, and give homely advice on conduct; they are among the most quoted verses in Telugu. C. P. Brown, a British official, collected and translated them as Verses of Vemana (1829).
Read it in full
Translations in print
- C. P. Brown, Verses of Vemana (1829)
Names with marks such as ā, ṣ or ṛ are explained in how to read the names and terms.
The passage the chapters quote
“Salt and camphor look alike, but taste them and they differ. Among people, too, the worthy are different. Listen, Vema.” ఉప్పు కప్పురంబు ఒక్క పోలికనుండు, చూడ చూడ రుచుల జాడ వేరు, పురుషులందు పుణ్యపురుషులు వేరయా, విశ్వదాభిరామ వినుర వేమ uppu kappurambu okka pōlikanuṇḍu, chūḍa chūḍa ruchula jāḍa vēru, puruṣulandu puṇyapuruṣulu vērayā, viśvadābhirāma vinura vēma. Vēmana, padyam (Telugu)
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Veda Verse. “Vēmana: what it is, and the passages we quote.” Last modified October 25, 2026. https://myvedaverse.in/learn/texts/vemana.
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